In October 2008, Team Penske was in a crisis. The then-two-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves was indicted on federal income tax evasion charges. Facing uncertainty over their star driver’s future (and freedom, for that matter), Roger Penske’s team had a decision to make.
Who should the team sign as a possible replacement for Castroneves?
Will Power was a candidate for the position, but didn’t hear back for a while after an interview with the organization.
Shortly before Christmas in 2008, Power got the call. The Australian had the job to fill in for Castroneves while the trial continued toward its verdict.
Power raced in the No. 3 machine at St. Petersburg, starting and finishing sixth. As the various IndyCar teams left for Long Beach, the jury in Castroneves’s trial was getting closer and closer to a verdict. Team Penske left for Long Beach with three cars in case the Brazilian was acquitted on the Friday of race weekend.
After the jury acquitted Castroneves, Power had to hop into the No. 12 entry for Saturday and Sunday, finishing second to Dario Franchitti. Power ran a handful of extra races that year, winning in dominant fashion at Edmonton before getting a full-time ride ahead of the 2010 IndyCar season.
Fast forward to 2025, and the 44-year-old is leading the charge at Team Penske as the entire organization has seemingly lost its way. While Alex Palou won eight of the first 15 races on his own, Team Penske has only one win between all three of its drivers (Power at Portland) and five other podium finishes between its drivers combined.
Combined. As in, Power has two other third-place finishes (Indianapolis road course and Iowa Speedway Race 1), Scott McLaughlin has a third-place finish at Barber Motorsports Park and Josef Newgarden finished third at St. Petersburg and second at Iowa Speedway Race 1.
Power is sixth in points, while McLaughlin is 11th and Newgarden is 18th, and the trio have combined for 17 finishes of 22nd or worse. Yet speculation is running rampant that Power might be out of a drive at Team Penske after his contract expires at the end of 2025.
That is simply ludicrous. However, let’s examine it from all angles.
There are a couple of factors working against the 2018 Indianapolis 500 winner. There’s no getting around the fact that Power will turn 45 years old on race day on the streets of St. Petersburg in March of 2026. Father Time is undefeated, and one day, Power will have to come to terms with that.
The other factor is that there is a succession plan seemingly in place with A. J. Foyt Racing having a somewhat direct pathway to Power’s seat, with either David Malukas (who is favored) or Santino Ferrucci ready to take over, thanks to the technical alliance between the teams.
However, there’s a bit of a problem. There was a good reason to move on from the previous drivers dropped from Team Penske.
After finally snapping a three-year winless drought, Castroneves became part-time after 2017, with McLaughlin signed to be his replacement in the No. 3 car years later.
The last replacement before that was when Newgarden joined the team in 2017 to replace Juan Pablo Montoya, who was eighth in the 2016 IndyCar points standings as the other Penske drivers went 1-2-3 in points that year.
What’s different this time? The drivers who were shown the door were underperforming compared to their teammates. Power is possibly on the chopping block, and he’s been the best Penske driver in points for most of the season!
Drivers should be replaced when they’re not performing up to expectations. However, Power’s situation with Team Penske is a pretty unique one due to their tenure together and the circumstances behind how it started.
The two-time IndyCar Series champion joined Penske during a time of massive uncertainty and gave the organization a massive shot in the arm, even breaking his back twice while driving. Power, therefore, deserves a send-off from Team Penske on his own terms, not dictated by anybody else.
Whether it’s a 2-year deal, a 1-year guaranteed plus an option year or just a 1-year deal, Power has earned the right to know before a season starts whether or not he’ll be in his last year as a driver for Team Penske and not have that cloud of speculation hang over the back of his mind from week to week.
After earning two titles and finishing second in the championship four times for The Captain, Power was owed the dignity of not having the drama of silly season hanging over him this summer, while the rest of the team was still reeling from what happened in May, and the rest of the field was reeling from Palou’s domination.
Will Power deserves to be a Team Penske driver. With how things have seemingly played out in public, can it be said that Team Penske deserves Power?
Christopher DeHarde has covered IndyCar racing and the Road to Indy for various outlets since 2014. In addition to open wheel racing, DeHarde has also covered IMSA and various short track racing events around Indiana. Originally from New Orleans, DeHarde moved to the Indianapolis area in 2017 to further pursue a career as a motorsports writer.